Using ‘Bing Webmaster Tools’ for SEO

We all know how Google’s Webmaster Tools are a joy to work with. But have you ever considered giving Bing a shot? It may be a little slow in the beginning as compared to the search giant’s tools, but the overall interface is lovely.

Bing offers users a straightforward approach when it comes to checking relevant data. The user experience is bound to satisfy even experienced webmasters because of the minimalistic approach. Though equipped with fewer features, Bing Webmaster Tools should be given a shot at handling your SEO needs.

The Phoenix Update

Aptly titled, Bing’s Phoenix Update is all about being reborn just like the mythical creature. Offering users a number of new features, the June 2012 announcement created a lot of buzz about how the company was going to improve the overall SEO experience.

Clutter from the dashboard has been removed and users can now browse through various tabs that are easily visible. Tools such as Link Explorer and SEO Reports are certainly worth checking out.

By scanning all the web pages every other week, the tool puts together a report that shows whether your site is complying with 15 SEO best practices. This helps improve on-page optimization in the long run.

The SEO Reports tool even gives you a list of pages that are non-compliant. By visiting the page source, you can then view highlighted codes that are the reason behind the anomaly. Click on the dropdown menu of the ‘Reports and Data’ tab to access this handy tool.

The Link Explorer tool works great for backlink research

Your competitors’ backlink profiles should be of great interest to you. Perusing through them will give you a good idea of how to pick out the best backlinks that work well in a particular niche. Those who use Bing’s Link Explorer say that it is one of the best link finding tools out there.

Click on ‘Diagnostics and Tools’ to find this nifty feature.

The best part about Link Explorer is that it indexes and reports backlinks at a very quick rate. It even takes new content into account within a short period of it appearing online.

The all-important Keyword Research tool

Are you looking for organic search queries? Bing’s Keyword Research tool gives you exactly those numbers. Google’s Keyword tool doesn’t do that because the algorithm for Google AdWords and Google organic are completely different.

The best way to use this tool is in addition with Google’s. This way you can create keywords with the latter and then re-check with Bing.

A number of webmasters don’t use Bing a lot, but that attitude is slowly changing. The company does have some interesting features that could enhance your SEO plans more than anything else. It may not be perfect, but it could be a handy addition to your online arsenal. You need all the help you can get when it comes to optimization.

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